Mamma Mia, Pappa Pia...our kitchen is a Pizzeria!

Tonight was proclaimed Pizza Night by the weeone, so who am I to stand between a 6 year old and one of her favorite foods? We spent about 10 minutes early in the evening together making our own Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough. Making it was much easier than you'd think, much quicker than you'd think and WAY more fun than you'd think. We followed a recipe that I'd originally seen on a friend's blog, Culinary in the Desert. It's a great pizza dough that is pretty healthy in comparison to lots of other recipes available. It originated from Eating Well Magazine.

Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough

To make 12 ounces dough:
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 package quick-rising yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons), such as Fleischmann's RapidRise
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2-2/3 cup hot water (120-130°F)
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

To make 1 pound dough:
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 package quick-rising yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons), such as Fleischmann's RapidRise
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup hot water (120-130°F)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1. Combine whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a food processor; pulse to mix. Combine hot water and oil in a measuring cup. With the motor running, gradually pour in enough of the hot liquid until the mixture forms a sticky ball. The dough should be quite soft. If it seems dry, add 1 to 2 tablespoons warm water; if too sticky, add 1 to 2 tablespoons flour. Process until the dough forms a ball, then process for 1 minute to knead.
2. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Coat a sheet of plastic wrap with cooking spray and place it, sprayed-side down, over the dough. Let the dough rest for 10 to 20 minutes before rolling.
3. Place a pizza stone or inverted baking sheet on the lowest oven rack;
preheat oven to 500°F or highest setting. Roll and top the pizza as desired
(we suggest a 13-inch circle) and bake the pizza until the bottom is crisp
and golden, 10 to 14 minutes. Serve immediately.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per 12 ounces: 766 calories; 12 g fat (2 g sat, 8 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 142 g carbohydrate; 26 g protein; 16 g fiber; 1,882 mg sodium.

Per 1 pound: 1,032 calories; 18 g fat (3 g sat, 12 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 189 g carbohydrate; 33 g protein; 21 g fiber; 2,509 mg sodium.

MAKE AHEAD TIP: Store in a plastic bag coated with cooking spray in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before using.

The weeone and I each shaped and topped our own pizzas. She used marinara, shredded mozzarella and sliced tomatoes. I used marinara, fresh sliced mozzarella, diced canadian bacon, sliced tomatoes and Penzey's Pizza Seasoning, and crushed red pepper.

We really enjoyed this meal both in preparing and eating...definitely a repeater.

So, we're 3 nights into "dining at home" and it's really been a hit so far. One of the secrets to our success at this point is that the weeone has no sports going on right now, so we're not rushing off to practice mid-evening. It will be interesting to see if we can keep this pace once softball season starts in early March. I guess I'll have to figure out some crockpot meals for that time of year! If you have healthy crockpot recipes that are hard to screw up, feel free to share!!!

My food journaling is going well and so is my water consumption. In fact, I'm drinking so much water these days that the Dr. Pepper corporation is probably starting to wonder what happened to it's Diet Dr. Pepper sales!!!